Could Mold and Mycotoxins Contribute To A Child’s Learning Disabilities?

If you’re the parent of a child with learning disabilities, you know how emotionally and fervently you seek answers. While this article neither serves as medical advice nor as a substitute for working with a licensed healthcare provider, we hope that it will arm you with some additional knowledge to help navigate your course.

Dr. Michael Gray has a Master’s degree in Public Health and is a medical doctor. He has written about the effects of mold and mycotoxins on human health. He agrees that exposure to mycotoxins has the potential to impact a child’s immune system, neurological system, and hormone balance. Taken together with Doug’s extensive research on the subject, we have to ask ourselves if mold may be contributing to the symptoms of learning disabilities.

Dr. Lisa Nagy, M.D., is a survivor of mold illness. She points to environmental molds and the inhalation of a class of mycotoxins called “trichothecenes”. She says that tricothecenes are commonly found in the urine of people who live in homes that are covered with mold. These mycotoxins are capable of disrupting normal cognition and can cause neurotransmitter abnormalities. Dr. Nagy talks about how people are often misdiagnosed as having mental impairment, while environmental pollutants may actually be at the heart of their symptoms.

If mold is contributing to a child’s learning disabilities, it seems like a good exercise of caution to work with a qualified mold remediation firm in order to remove the ongoing onslaught of mycotoxins that your child is inhaling.

Household mold isn’t the only source of neurological-damaging mycotoxins. The food we eat has to be considered. Often, dietitians who work with children with learning disabilities believe the problem to be exacerbated by “food allergies”. They may even recommend a special diet, perhaps a gluten-free diet. However, if there isn’t an understanding of which foods commonly contain mycotoxins, the long-term results could be impeded. For example, gluten-free diets often include cornmeal-based products. Yet a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association says that corn is “universally contaminated” with mycotoxins.

This is why it seems crucial for parents to absorb Doug Kaufmann’s collected research in his Fungus Link series of books. Without it, I don’t feel that a serious campaign against a child’s symptoms is complete.

I would also begin investigating the profound effects that essential fatty acids can have on brain health. Studies have shown that fish oil, in particular, with its DHA and EPA may have a particularly useful impact.